Two players pleaded to swap rooms after staying with Arsenal flop Nicolas Pepe

Two footballers begged to switch rooms after sharing with Arsenal flop Nicolas Pepe.

The Gunners signed the Ivorian in 2019 for a whopping £72m after his impressive stint with Lille. Despite high hopes, Pepe didn't deliver consistently and was eventually loaned out. He recently moved to Turkish side Trabzonspor for free, meaning a huge loss for Arsenal.

However, it wasn't his Gunners team-mates who had issues with him, but his Ivory Coast colleagues. Both Wilfried Zaha and Salomon Kalou tried their best to avoid rooming with Pepe during international duty – due to his loud snoring.

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Zaha revealed on the OnTheJudy podcast in 2021: "Oh my days. Nicolas Pepe. Nicolas Pepe, I asked to leave the room. I went and asked to leave the room because he sounded like a motorbike. It was mad.

"Bro, it was crazy. I was like no, I can't. They let me move and share rooms with Kalou, Salomon Kalou. And he was like, 'Bro, I know. I moved myself'."

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Pepe's new team-mates in the Turkish SuperLig are hoping his past performance won't affect their chances of challenging the country's top teams. Just two seasons ago, they were champions and have now enlisted the former Arsenal player to boost their title hopes.

"I came here to become a champion and achieve success," said the Ivorian, who has joined forces with ex-Aston Villa player, Trezeguet. Pepe's £150,000-a-week deal with Arsenal had a year left on the contract, but both he and the club decided to terminate it.

Last season, Pepe was loaned out to Nice, but failed to regain his previous Ligue 1 form. With Arsenal's attacking line-up already set, there seemed no way back into the starting XI for him, especially with Mikel Arteta keen to let him go. The 28-year-old quit the Emirates after making 112 appearances, scoring 27 goals, and winning the FA Cup in 2020.

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